About CELAC

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Spanish: Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, CELAC; Portuguese: Comunidade de Estados Latino-Americanos e Caribenhos; French:Communauté des États Latino-Américains et Caribéens; Dutch: Gemeenschap van Latijns-Amerikaanse en Caraïbische Staten) is a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean states thought out on February 23, 2010, at the Rio Group–Caribbean Community Unity Summit, and created on December 3, 2011, in Caracas, Venezuela, with the signature of The Declaration of Caracas. It consists of 33 sovereign countries in the Americas representing roughly 600 million people. Due to the focus of the organization on Latin American and Caribbean countries, other countries and territories in the Americas, Canada and the United States, as well as the territories of France, the Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom in the Americas are not included.

CELAC is an example of a decade-long push for deeper integration within Latin America and the Caribbean. CELAC was created to deepen Latin American integration and by some to reduce the significant influence of the United States on the politics and economics of Latin America. It is seen as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), the regional body that was founded by United States and 21 other Latin American nations, as a countermeasure to potential Soviet influence in the region.

Member states

CELAC comprises 33 countries speaking five different languages:

Eighteen Spanish-speaking countries (56% of the area, 63% of the population)

Argentina

Dominican Republic

Nicaragua

Bolivia

Ecuador

Panama

Chile

El Salvador

Paraguay

Colombia

Guatemala

Peru

Costa Rica

Honduras

Uruguay

Cuba

Mexico

Venezuela

One Portuguese-speaking country (42% of the area, 34% of the population)

Brazil

One French-speaking country (0.1% of the area, 1.6% of the population)

Haiti

Twelve English-speaking countries (1.3% of the area, 1.1% of the population)